Here is a transcription of an actual conversation I had last week. For context, I was at the library at 8 am and found an empty table. A friend of mine also found a place not far away. It looked like a great start to a great day. That was until someone stormed without even saying any greetings; “Hey, I reserved those two places. There was a book on it”. Again, for context, there were zero books on the place I chose. More importantly, even if there were, this would not make any difference as you cannot reserve seats in the library (except for a particular area dedicated to writing a thesis, in which case you must create an actual reservation with the library). I explained to this individual, “you cannot reserve in the library”. Somehow, he responded, “yes, you can”, to which I made clear, “no, you cannot. Go ask the librarian at the entrance”. To which he finally gave up, “ok, you cannot”, or at least it seemed so. A few minutes later, he returned to tell me that although it is impossible to reserve places, I should still respect his right to a non-existent claim and ask him for the place next time. This time I had to develop my answer, “you cannot reserve seats, so I don’t have to ask anything. I woke up at 6h30 to get here at the opening and get a place, but you want me to give it up to someone too lazy to be here before 11. How does that make sense?”. This concluded an awkward exchange with a law student, which I hope, for everybody’s sake, will learn to have a better appreciation for rules and develop more persuasive arguments in his future career.
A lack of study places in a quiet library environment is a common problem in universities. Libraries are often old buildings made when there were fewer students or that privilege aesthetics over practicality, like the Rolex Learning Centre at the EPFL campus or, to a certain extent, the Square at HSG. That is why it is essential to use all the seats available, especially during the period leading to the exams. Many individuals are more productive and focus better at the library; reserving empty seats all day is
robbing them of optimal preparation conditions. Therefore, you cannot reserve library seats. Especially with just a book or a scarf, this is a ridiculous notion. But someone started to do so one day, and it worked. To stop this epidemic of lack of mannerisms, it is crucial to stand to those reserving-place bullies, meaning take their (non-)reserved places. Thus, here is a short two-step guide on how to take back those reserved seats.
Firstly, when you arrive inside the library, you will need to find those reserved seats (which again are actually not reserved and only await you). This can be sometimes tricky as some students have little material on their tables and might just be taking a break, looking similar to a reserved seat. Thus, the defining criterion is not the number of things at a place but whether someone could work with that material. For example, if there are two Glemsers and a textbook on a table but nothing else, this is probably a seat someone attempted to reserve. Where are the pens, the backpack, the bloc note to work, and so on? Importantly some persons leave a personal item such as a beanie, a snapback or a pullover to make it look more credible, don’t be fooled by that. In case of confusion, the simplest way consists of simply asking the students around the reserved seat whether someone has been there. If they say no, you can take the place. If they say they are the ones who put their stuff there to reserve the spot, you can also take the place (even more).
Secondly, you must act decisively. Don’t ask half the library for the seat or whether the person who reserved it minds if you sit there. Once you determine it is there, you are studying for the day, take possession of your prize, push the stuff used to reserve the place aside (no need to be rude and throw it on the ground), take out your study material and start to study. In case of conflicts, if someone comes back saying you took away their reserved seats, don’t apologise or minimise your actions. Instead, tell them you cannot reserve seats and that they are free to ask the library team this information or propose to them a read of this article.